Technology

First 10 things to do if you got a new PC

Published

2 years ago

January 2, 2024

First 10 things to do if you got a new PC

If you’re reading this, you might have gotten a new PC for the holidays or you’re considering buying one in the new year. Thaddeus from Ellenton, Florida, reached out to us with this question after purchasing a new PC.

“I just bought a new PC laptop for the first time in 8 years (how times change!). I want to set this one up correctly and in the most secure way possible from the very start. I mean from the first time I boot it up. QUESTION: Is there a checklist of suggestions that I can follow to [set up] a new computer correctly & securely?” – Thaddeus, Ellenton, FL

Yes, Thaddeus, we have some great suggestions for you. Here’s how to set up your new PC, fresh out of the box. And for those who have a new Mac, check out these five essential steps to set up your Mac.

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1) Getting started with Windows

Man typing on PC (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

When you first open your new PC, Windows will ask you to pick some basic settings. First, it’ll ask you to select a language. Then, it’ll ask to connect to your Wi-Fi. Select whatever network you use and input your password. You can then click on “connect automatically” so Windows won’t ask you for a password every time you want to connect to the internet.

After connecting to your Wi-Fi, Windows will ask you to set up your language, time and calendar settings. It then asks you to create a login. Windows might ask you to create an online Windows account, but that’s optional. While it does sync up your new PC to other PCs you might own, you can also create a local account.

2) Updating to latest version of Windows

First thing’s first, you should make sure you have the latest version of Windows. It doesn’t matter if you’re using Windows 10 or Windows 11 — you should be using the most up-to-date version. Luckily, Windows allows you to easily update your new computer.

Once you connect your PC to the internet, Windows will automatically search for updates. If you want to update your computer once it has been set up, here’s how:

Windows 10:

Click Start and select Settings
Select Update & Security and then click Windows Update
Click Check for updates and if one is available, click on Download and install

Windows 11:

Click Start and select Settings
Select Windows Update
Windows should automatically start Checking for updates, if not, select Check for updates
Click Download and install

MORE: WATCH OUT FOR THIS NEW MALICIOUS RANSOMWARE DISGUISED AS WINDOWS UPDATES

3) Install a new browser

Windows comes preinstalled with Microsoft Edge. The browser is perfectly serviceable, however, it may not be your cup of tea, and you might want to go with an alternative. You might prefer Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera GX or Brave instead. Each has its upsides and downsides.

Google Chrome is more ubiquitous and features a huge library of extensions for you to download and use. It also connects to your Google profile, letting you have a more seamless experience across multiple devices. Firefox is more catered toward privacy and also features a pretty big selection of extensions. And if you’re a fan of gaming or have gamers in your family, Opera GX has features that focus on your CPU, RAM and network connectivity. Or you may want to go with Brave, a browser that blocks ads and trackers by default and also offers built-in firewall and VPN services. Brave is fast, secure, and privacy-focused.

To download any of those browsers, just head to their respective websites and click on the version that works best for your PC.

MORE: TOP BROWSER EXTENSIONS TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER

4) Setting up your computer security settings

Windows 10 and 11 both come preinstalled with Windows Security (also known as Windows Defender). It’s turned on by default unless you have a third-party antivirus preinstalled. You can access it pretty easily, here’s how:

Click Start and select Settings
Select Windows Security
Use the options on screen and make sure everything has a green check

Windows security screen (Microsoft) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Windows Defender, integrated as a complimentary antivirus software in Windows 10 and 11, offers capabilities to detect and remove a variety of malware, along with firewall and device protection features. However, its scope is limited. It does not safeguard against phishing or spam, and its functionality is confined to the individual Windows 10 or 11 system where it’s installed, primarily supporting other Microsoft products. Unfortunately, it lacks compatibility with popular browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, leaving third-party applications and programs susceptible to security and privacy breaches. Consequently, Windows Defender may not be sufficient for comprehensive security needs, and exploring reliable third-party alternatives could provide more robust and extensive protection.

No matter what, the best way to protect yourself from having your data breached is to have antivirus protection installed on all your devices. Having good antivirus software actively running on your devices will alert you of any malware in your system, warn you against clicking on any malicious links in phishing emails and ultimately protect you from being hacked. Get my picks for the best 2023 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices.

5) Backing up your PC

Backing up your PC gives you some security in case something goes wrong. You can use it to restore your Windows back to normal. And a backup feature is built right into Windows.

Windows 11:

Connect the external drive for your backup to your computer
Open File Explorer
You should see the external drive in the left-side panel
Copy the content you want to back up by
Paste the copied files or folders into the external drive

Windows 10:

Connect the external drive for your backup to your computer
On the main desktop, go to the ‘Windows’ icon to open the menu
Click Settings
Scroll down the ‘Windows Setting’ page, and click Update & Security
Click Backup
Select Add a drive
Choose the external drive or network location you want to back up the files

6) Transferring your files

While transferring files to a new PC can seem daunting, it’s actually quite simple. All you need to do is backup your files onto a cloud storage service like Dropbox, One Drive or Google Chrome. Then log into your service on your new PC and download/restore those files onto your new computer. For an offline option, you could upload your files to a thumb drive or external hard drive. You’d then plug them into your new PC and download them.

7) Cleaning up bloatware

Many PCs bought off the shelf will have bloatware, which is software that is pre-installed by the manufacturer or retailer, often without the user’s consent or knowledge. It’s that unneeded Candy Crush clone or antivirus software trial that you don’t really need taking up space on your computer. Luckily, it’s pretty easy to get rid of. Here’s how:

Windows 10: uninstalling apps:

Select Start, then select Settings
Click on Apps and then select Apps & features
Choose the bloatware you want to Uninstall

Uninstall programs from the Control Panel

Use the search box to find the Control Panel
Click on Programs and then select Programs and Features
Right-click on the program you want to get rid of and select either Uninstall or Uninstall/Change
Follow the directions on the screen

Windows 11: uninstalling apps:

Click Start and select Settings
Select Apps
Click on Installed Apps and uninstall any bloatware

You’ll also want to have a quality performance optimization program to do a deep clean up all that redundant junk from your device so that it can perform the way it’s supposed to and serve your needs. Here are my top picks for the best performance optimization programs in the industry. Before you clean out your computer with these programs, it’s always a good idea to back up your devices.

MORE: 5 WAYS TO DEAL WITH SPAM FOLLOWING THE HOLIDAY SEASON

8) Register your PC, software and hardware

Image of laptop PC (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

You should register your device with its manufacturer. It’s an additional record that you’ve bought their product in case you ever need help with it. It also gives the manufacturer a way to contact you in case there’s a recall.

You can register your device online, but that could put you on a mailing list and subject you to spam. One way to combat that is using an alias email. An alias email address is an additional email address that can be used to receive emails in the same mailbox as the primary email address. It acts as a forwarding address, directing emails to the primary email address.

In addition to creating throwaway email accounts for online sign-ups and other circumstances where you would not want to disclose your primary email address, alias email addresses are helpful for handling and organizing incoming communications.

Sometimes, it’s best to create various email aliases so that you don’t have to worry about getting tons of spam mail and having your email eventually stolen in a data breach. An alias email address is a great way for you to stop receiving constant spam mail by simply deleting the email alias address. See my review of best secure and private email services here.

MORE: CONTROL SPAM – HOW TO CREATE A QUICK ALIAS EMAIL ADDRESS

9) Set up a password manager

One of the most critical steps in securing your new PC is to use a password manager. Password managers help you generate strong, unique passwords for each of your accounts, store them securely, and automatically fill them in when you need to log in. This helps protect your accounts from hacking attempts and simplifies your online life. After installing your chosen password manager, make sure to set it up and start using it to store and manage your passwords.

By using a password manager, you’ll enhance the security of your online accounts and ensure that you’re not using weak or duplicate passwords, which can be a significant vulnerability. With this additional step, your new PC laptop will be even more secure.

10) What to do with your old PC

The first thing you should do with your old PC is wipe it clean. You don’t want to risk compromising your own data. If you don’t, you could be leaving your information exposed.

Windows 10:

Click Start and select Settings
Select Update & Security and then click Recovery
Click on Get Started and select Remove Everything
Click on Local reinstall and click on Change Settings, then choose Wipe the drive
Select Confirm and then Next and then click Reset

Windows 11:

Click Start and select Settings
Select Update & Security and then click Recovery
Click on Reset PC and select Remove everything
Click on Local reinstall or Cloud download
Select Change Settings in Additional settings
Select Clean data
Select Confirm and then Next and then click Reset

Instead of adding your old PC to your pile of unused tech, consider selling or recycling them. Some services will pay you even if your devices are not working. Here are two services that you can use.

1) Amazon’s Trade-In Program

Amazon’s Trade-In Program is a quick and easy way for you to earn something from your old and unused electronics. Most older electronics decrease in value as time goes on, so it’s not likely that you’ll be able to earn a ton of money by selling them. Sure, you could always give your old item to a friend or family member if it’s still in good shape. However, if they are going to want to use something newer as well, then this is the perfect way for you to recycle your items and earn money back at the same time. Follow these steps on how this program works.

2) Decluttr

Decluttr is one of the easiest and fastest ways to sell used tech, including cell phones, unwanted MacBooks, tablets, and game consoles, but also CDs, DVDs, games and books, too. Decluttr pays 30% more on average compared to Apple or Samsung buyback programs for smartphones. You can see what they would pay for your old tech online before committing to selling it here on Decluttr.

Click here for ways to sell, donate or recycle your phone and all of your old devices.

Kurt’s key takeaways

Setting up a PC can seem like a daunting task. But this handy checklist shows how easy it can be. Just follow these 10 steps and you’ll be on your way to surfing the web, streaming videos and more!

What do you do first when you buy a PC? What are your biggest issues or challenges? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

For more of my tech tips & security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.

Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you’d like us to cover.

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Ideas for using those Holiday Gift cards

Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

Birdbuddy’s new smart feeders aim to make spotting birds easier, even for beginners

Published

9 hours ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

Birdbuddy’s new smart feeders aim to make spotting birds easier, even for beginners

Birdbuddy is introducing two new smart bird feeders: the flagship Birdbuddy 2 and the more compact, cheaper Birdbuddy 2 Mini aimed at first-time users and smaller outdoor spaces. Both models are designed to be faster and easier to use than previous generations, with upgraded cameras that can shoot in portrait or landscape and wake instantly when a bird lands so you’re less likely to miss the good stuff.

The Birdbuddy 2 costs $199 and features a redesigned circular camera housing that delivers 2K HDR video, slow-motion recording, and a wider 135-degree field of view. The upgraded built-in mic should also better pick up birdsong, which could make identifying species easier using both sound and sight.

The feeder itself offers a larger seed capacity and an integrated perch extender, along with support for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi for more stable connectivity. The new model also adds dual integrated solar panels to help keep it powered throughout the day, while adding a night sleep mode to conserve power.

The Birdbuddy 2 Mini is designed to deliver the same core AI bird identification and camera experience, but in a smaller, more accessible package. At 6.95 inches tall with a smaller seed capacity, it’s geared toward first-time smart birders and smaller outdoor spaces like balconies, and it supports an optional solar panel.

Birdbuddy 2’s first batch of preorders has already sold out, with shipments expected in February 2026 and wider availability set for mid-2026. Meanwhile, the Birdbuddy 2 Mini will be available to preorder for $129 in mid-2026, with the company planning on shipping the smart bird feeder in late 2026.

Technology

Robots learn 1,000 tasks in one day from a single demo

Published

9 hours ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

Robots learn 1,000 tasks in one day from a single demo

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Most robot headlines follow a familiar script: a machine masters one narrow trick in a controlled lab, then comes the bold promise that everything is about to change. I usually tune those stories out. We have heard about robots taking over since science fiction began, yet real-life robots still struggle with basic flexibility. This time felt different.

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ELON MUSK TEASES A FUTURE RUN BY ROBOTS

Researchers highlight the milestone that shows how a robot learned 1,000 real-world tasks in just one day. (Science Robotics)

How robots learned 1,000 physical tasks in one day

A new report published in Science Robotics caught our attention because the results feel genuinely meaningful, impressive and a little unsettling in the best way. The research comes from a team of academic scientists working in robotics and artificial intelligence, and it tackles one of the field’s biggest limitations.

The researchers taught a robot to learn 1,000 different physical tasks in a single day using just one demonstration per task. These were not small variations of the same movement. The tasks included placing, folding, inserting, gripping and manipulating everyday objects in the real world. For robotics, that is a big deal.

Why robots have always been slow learners

Until now, teaching robots physical tasks has been painfully inefficient. Even simple actions often require hundreds or thousands of demonstrations. Engineers must collect massive datasets and fine-tune systems behind the scenes. That is why most factory robots repeat one motion endlessly and fail as soon as conditions change. Humans learn differently. If someone shows you how to do something once or twice, you can usually figure it out. That gap between human learning and robot learning has held robotics back for decades. This research aims to close that gap.

THE NEW ROBOT THAT COULD MAKE CHORES A THING OF THE PAST

The research team behind the study focuses on teaching robots to learn physical tasks faster and with less data. (Science Robotics)

How the robot learned 1,000 tasks so fast

The breakthrough comes from a smarter way of teaching robots to learn from demonstrations. Instead of memorizing entire movements, the system breaks tasks into simpler phases. One phase focuses on aligning with the object, and the other handles the interaction itself. This method relies on artificial intelligence, specifically an AI technique called imitation learning that allows robots to learn physical tasks from human demonstrations.

The robot then reuses knowledge from previous tasks and applies it to new ones. This retrieval-based approach allows the system to generalize rather than start from scratch each time. Using this method, called Multi-Task Trajectory Transfer, the researchers trained a real robot arm on 1,000 distinct everyday tasks in under 24 hours of human demonstration time.

Importantly, this was not done in a simulation. It happened in the real world, with real objects, real mistakes and real constraints. That detail matters.

Why this research feels different

Many robotics papers look impressive on paper but fall apart outside perfect lab conditions. This one stands out because it tested the system through thousands of real-world rollouts. The robot also showed it could handle new object instances it had never seen before. That ability to generalize is what robots have been missing. It is the difference between a machine that repeats and one that adapts.

AI VIDEO TECH FAST-TRACKS HUMANOID ROBOT TRAINING

The robot arm practices everyday movements like gripping, folding and placing objects using a single human demonstration. (Science Robotics)

A long-standing robotics problem may finally be cracking

This research addresses one of the biggest bottlenecks in robotics: inefficient learning from demonstrations. By decomposing tasks and reusing knowledge, the system achieved an order of magnitude improvement in data efficiency compared to traditional approaches. That kind of leap rarely happens overnight. It suggests that the robot-filled future we have talked about for years may be nearer than it looked even a few years ago.

What this means for you

Faster learning changes everything. If robots need less data and less programming, they become cheaper and more flexible. That opens the door to robots working outside tightly controlled environments.

In the long run, this could enable home robots to learn new tasks from simple demonstrations instead of specialist code. It also has major implications for healthcare, logistics and manufacturing.

More broadly, it signals a shift in artificial intelligence. We are moving away from flashy tricks and toward systems that learn in more human-like ways. Not smarter than people. Just closer to how we actually operate day to day.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Robots learning 1,000 tasks in a day does not mean your house will have a humanoid helper tomorrow. Still, it represents real progress on a problem that has limited robotics for decades. When machines start learning more like humans, the conversation changes. The question shifts from what robots can repeat to what they can adapt to next. That shift is worth paying attention to.

If robots can now learn like us, what tasks would you actually trust one to handle in your own life? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

Plaud updates the NotePin with a button

Published

21 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Plaud has updated its compact NotePin AI recorder. The new NotePin S is almost identical to the original, except for one major difference: a button. It’s joined by a new Plaud Desktop app for recording audio in online meetings, which is free to owners of any Plaud Note or NotePin.

The NotePin S has the same FitBit-esque design as the 2024 original and ships with a lanyard, wristband, clip, and magnetic pin, so you can wear it just about any way you please — now all included in the box, whereas before the lanyard and wristband were sold separately.

It’s about the same size as the NotePin, comes in the same colors (black, purple, or silver), offers similar battery life, and still supports Apple Find My. Like the NotePin, it records audio and generates transcriptions and summaries, whether those are meeting notes, action points, or reminders.

But now it has a button. Whereas the first NotePin used haptic controls, relying on a long squeeze to start recording, with a short buzz to let you know it worked, the S switches to something simpler. A long press of the button starts recording, a short tap adds highlight markers. Plaud’s explanation for the change is simple: buttons are less ambiguous, so you’ll always know you’ve successfully pressed it and started recording, whereas original NotePin users complained they sometimes failed to record because they hadn’t squeezed just right.

AI recorders like this live or die by ease of use, so removing a little friction gives Plaud better odds of survival.

Alongside the NotePin S, Plaud is launching a new Mac and PC application for recording the audio from online meetings. Plaud Desktop runs in the background and activates whenever it detects calls from apps including Zoom, Meet, and Teams, recording both system audio and from your microphone. You can set it to either record meetings automatically or require manual activation, and unlike some alternatives it doesn’t create a bot that joins the call with you.

Recordings and notes are synced with those from Plaud’s line of hardware recorders, with the same models used for transcription and generation, creating a “seamless” library of audio from your meetings, both online and off.

Plaud Desktop is available now and is free to anyone who already owns a Plaud Note or NotePin device. The new NotePin S is also available today, for $179 — $20 more than the original, which Plaud says will now be phased out.